Swing Life Away
by BlackenedHearts
Summary: They'd been friends for a long time. Ruby could fairly confidently say that she cared for Weiss Schnee more than she did anybody else. Of course at some point she realized that it was in a way that meant more than friendship. But sometimes life doesn't go your way, and what's left behind is only regrets. Normal AU. Ruby and Weiss are the same age. Ruby/Weiss.


**Author's Note**

**Normal life AU. Ruby and Weiss are the same age.**

**I liked the original idea I had for this. Not sure if I'm entirely happy how it came out though, but I didn't want to spend any more time on it.**

**Was unsure of the title. What I ended up settling on is indeed the title of a song. No it does not really have much, if anything, to do with the contents of the song.**

* * *

The playground was nice enough she supposed. Slides, swings, monkey bars and more. It had everything. Unfortunately, this also meant that there were a lot of others around too, and seven-year-old Ruby Rose was a little bit crowd shy. It's not that she had any problems with people in general, just if there were a lot of them and she knew none of them.

Her sister Yang had already joined a group of older kids in their games. She'd offered an invitation, but Ruby had been too nervous to accept and Yang had quickly ended up running off without her. After checking in with her mom and promising not to go far Ruby had decided to find some place quieter.

Wandering away from the other children and supervising parents Ruby ended up ascending a nearby hill. Plopping down at the base of the only tree up here she took a moment to relax away from everyone else.

It was nice up here she decided. There wasn't much to look at, but it was peaceful.

Of course there was only a certain measure of peace that a usually rather rambunctious girl like her could take. It was perhaps five minutes before Ruby found herself half way up the tree.

"Hup!" With a final grunt of exertion Ruby had pulled herself up onto one of the larger tree branches.

Sitting up here from her new position Ruby gave a little fist pump, happy at her success. She'd watched Yang climb plenty of trees before, but hadn't had much luck herself previously with it. Straddling the tree branch Ruby slowly settled back down from the minor adrenaline rush, but by the time she looked back down, Ruby found that she wasn't quite so alone up here anymore.

At some point another girl about her age had come up the hill as well, settling down at the base of the tree. The first thing that Ruby noticed about her was her white hair. She had thought that white hair was something only old people had, but this girl her age did too, and it was actually kinda pretty.

While Ruby may not do so well with crowds, she thought she could handle approaching just one. Making a new friend would be nice, and easier than trying to handle a larger group. Of course it was only then that she realized that she had never learned how to get back _down_ from a tree.

For seven-year-old Weiss Schnee, this was not a great day for her so far. She had been excited when her father had taken her to the park, but he had quickly been called away on business. An attendant had been left to watch over her, but already in a bad mood she had stormed off to find some place to be alone. This solitary tree on a hill away from the playground had served well enough. The attendant was probably still watching her from nearby, but as long as Weiss couldn't see them, that was fine with her.

But of course she wasn't quite as alone as she thought. The only warning that she would have that something was amiss was a sudden scream from above her.

"AAAHHH!"

"Wha-!?" Weiss cried out in surprise instinctively moving to the side as she looked up.

A second later the screaming figure from above made the short trip from the tree branch overhead down to the ground next to her in a heap. It was a very narrow miss that they had managed to not land atop Weiss herself. There was a second of stunned silence on Weiss's part before the other child began to move.

"Ooowwww," the girl moaned out in pain as she pushed herself back into a sitting position.

Snapped out of her state of surprise Weiss opened her mouth to say something as well. "What is _wrong_ with you? You could have hit me!"

Brushing herself off the girl in red turned to face her. "I'm sorry! I climbed up the tree, but I wasn't very good at climbing back down," she said in apology rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Quickly her expression turned into a bright if slightly unsure smile as she extended a hand for a handshake. "My name's Ruby! Do you want to be friends?"

Weiss's mouth fell open, agape at the strangeness of this girl. She eyed the offered hand with a bit of disdain. "Well _Ruby_. My name is Weiss. If being friends with _you_ is as dangerous as it was just now, then no thanks." Turning away from the weird girl with a sniff Weiss began walking away, intending to track down her minder and have them take her home.

"Weiss Wait! It was an accident, I said I was sorry! I can make it up to you!" Ruby pleaded, scrambling to her feet to follow after Weiss.

"You want to make it up to me?" Weiss asked a little dubious.

"Absolutely!" Ruby said in the affirmative nodding her head furiously.

"Never speak to me again."

This time Ruby was the one with her jaw hanging in shock as Weiss began to walk away again.

* * *

"Weiss! You're here!" cheered a now eight-year-old Ruby.

"Of course I'm here dunce," Weiss scoffed. There was no real bite in her voice despite the choice in words. "We always meet here today. You know that."

Ruby pouted. "Why do you always gotta be like that? I'm just excited to see my friend! Aren't you excited to see me too?"

The two of them had not gotten along very well at all in the beginning with one of Ruby's blunder serving as their introduction. Something about Weiss though had kept drawing Ruby in, and she had persisted in trying to befriend the other girl. A persistence that was eventually rewarded.

Weiss offered no response to Ruby's question. Walking up next to her she instead just looked curiously at the newest addition to their spot. "What's this?"

"Oh!" said Ruby remembering the reason just why she was particularly excited today, even more so than usual. "Do you like it? My dad made it yesterday!" Her chest was puffed out in pride with her little hands upon her hips, as if she were the one to have done it rather than her father.

'It' in this case was a newly attached swing hanging from a branch of the tree. Two simple ropes knotted elegantly upon the tree's limb attached to a plank of wood hanging a couple of feet above the ground. The branch in this case was coincidentally the very same one that Ruby had once fell from.

"It's not as good as the ones in the park, but there's nobody else that comes up here so this one is just ours!" Ruby explained still in the same excited voice she'd had since Weiss had gotten here. "Climb on and I'll push you!"

Ruby being Ruby had not even given Weiss a chance to do or say anything before proceeding to do so anyway. Maneuvering behind her friend she placed her hands upon Weiss's back and pushed her towards the swing. The other girl had barely had a chance to get seated before Ruby gave her another push.

Ruby was actually surprisingly good at pushing someone on a swing. She showed an uncharacteristic amount of patience and eye to detail in that she was able to wait and time her pushes to ensure that she was adding as much momentum as possible. For Weiss though, that actually made her rather nervous.

"Ruby! Stop!"

"Huh?" Ruby was confused, but obliged her friend's request. Stepping out of the way she watched as the pendulous motion of the swing slowed to a stop.

Clenching her teeth Weiss tried not to let it show on her face just how fast her heart was beating. From Ruby's pushing the swing had been moving rather high. She had been afraid of the possibility of flying off. Turning to Ruby she plastered a smile on her face.

"I think I've been on here long enough," said Weiss. "Why don't you take a turn and I'll push you?"

Ruby of course failed to discern the true reason Weiss had wanted off. She was merely happy that Weiss was willing to take turns and play with her and eagerly agreed to the switch.

They ended up playing on that swing for hours until the girls were dragged away by their parents. Turns were taken, but Ruby was actually the one that ended up on there for the longest, at least until Weiss finally managed to ignore her pride long enough to tell Ruby what her problem was.

It didn't really matter to either whether they were the one swinging or pushing. As long as they were doing it with their friend.

* * *

It was a nice enough day out. The skies were a nice blue, the clouds sufficiently fluffy, and the wind just enough to qualify as a breeze on this warm day. It was peaceful up on this hill as it always was, away from everyone else in the playground just down at its base.

A single solitary tree sat up top, overlooking everything else. It was a decently large tree, though not extraordinarily so. The only real notable feature of it was a simply made swing attached to one of the branches upon which a small figure now sat, idly moving back and forth. For her this was an important and much beloved place.

Despite all that though, there was no happiness to be had on this day for eleven-year-old Ruby Rose.

"Ruby!"

Hearing the greeting Ruby turned to look down the hill. Calmly walking up the hill was another girl her own age, one with hair already white at their young age. Ruby's best friend, Weiss Schnee.

The two of them could often be as different as night and day in temperament. It often surprised people that the two were friends at all, let alone best friends. By her own admittance Weiss could be a rather difficult person at times and had always had trouble getting along with people. Ruby on the other hand tended to be quite cheerful and had grown to be rather charismatic, even if the latter was mostly unintentional.

Their differences in personality had caused some friction between the two in the past. But for all that Weiss loved to complain about Ruby, she had always been a great and loyal friend to her. And Ruby would always make sure to give nothing less than her best in return.

"Hi Weiss," Ruby returned the greeting with a small smile. For Weiss at least, Ruby could at least try and pretend to be happy for a little while.

Coming to a stop next to Ruby, Weiss gave her friend a curious look and then said rather bluntly, "What's the matter Ruby? Normally you'd have tackled me to the ground or something by now." Blinking she huffed and turned aside. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."

Ruby's smile widened a little more genuinely this time. It didn't surprise her that Weiss would be able to pick up on the fact that something was wrong so quickly. It also came as no surprise that immediately afterwards she would act like she didn't care, even if she really did. That was just like Weiss after all.

"Ah, just feeling a little down is all today," Ruby explained

It wasn't quite the whole truth and she knew that Weiss would pick up on that. Ruby never was very good at lying to her. She also knew though that Weiss could tell that she didn't really want to talk about it right now and would hold off from prying.

"It's nice to hear that you care though Weiss," teased Ruby.

"Who would care about a dolt like you?" said Weiss. Her words though were betrayed by the pout and and the slight reddening of her cheeks from having been called out. "It's just weird when you're being all quiet."

Placing her hands upon Ruby's back, Weiss gave the other girl a great shove. Of course since Ruby was currently seated on a swing, that just meant that she along with her seat swung forward. When it swung back, as swings are known to do, Ruby felt Weiss's hands upon her back once more in another more gentle push this time.

It was here on this hill that the two of them had first met actually Ruby mused. Since then it had become a favourite spot for the two friends due to its close vicinity between their houses. Many hours had been spent like this for the two on the swing, ever since it had been added. Honestly at this point they could manage to swing by themselves easily enough without requiring someone to be pushing, but it was habit by now and in her opinion much better this way.

This was nice. This was familiar. Under normal circumstances this would have made Ruby feel better. Today though was not normal circumstances, and Ruby knew that this couldn't last.

Silently Ruby dragged her feet upon the ground, bringing herself to a stop without saying a word. Lowering her hands from where they had been poised to give Ruby another push Weiss stepped to the side to give Ruby another concerned look.

A little hesitantly Weiss felt the need to ask again. "Ruby? Are you okay?"

Rather than answering Ruby continued to sit there silently, her hands nervously grasping and ungrasping the ropes holding up the seat of the swing. As the silence stretched on Weiss stopped even trying to hide the look of worry on her face. Whatever was wrong with Ruby was far more than her just feeling 'a little down' and it was becoming alarmingly apparent.

Even as Ruby gave more thought to the matter no easier way to tell Weiss the bad news came to her. She would just have to say to it. Ruby stood up from the swing.

"I'm moving away."

Immediately Ruby heard a sharp intake of breath from beside her. Keeping her head down she tried her best not to look at Weiss. But still, even though she couldn't see her, it was easy to imagine the look of shock that would be on Weiss's face.

"W-what?" Weiss managed to croak out after a few seconds. "What did you say?"

"My family. We're moving away from here." It was extremely difficult for Ruby right now to keep her level. Already with that last sentence her voice had begun to warble as she spoke it.

"When? Why!?" Weiss cried out upset with her voice increasing in volume.

"Tomorrow," Ruby said shakily. "My dad- my dad he got a- got a new job in another town."

Almost immediately Ruby felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and a body press into her side as Weiss pulled her into a tight hold. She could clearly feel Weiss trembling and Ruby had to bite her lip to hold back the tears threatening to come out.

"You-you're not allowed to just _move_," Weiss asserted stubbornly as she tightened her grip on Ruby. "You're supposed to be my friend. My _best_ friend_,_" she sniffled. "You're not allowed to move, it's forbidden! I forbid it!"

Hearing Weiss's first sob broke down any self control Ruby had left that was holding in her own tears. It started with a hitch in her breath as the tears finally began to spill over her cheeks, but quickly turned into sobs of her own. It wasn't very long before the two girls were just crying completely unreservedly as they clung to each other.

Ruby could feel Weiss shaking her head from its position in her shoulder, as if trying to deny the reality of what was about to happen. Her grip tightened around Weiss. She didn't want to go either, but she didn't have a choice.

The next day came all too soon, and with it, her departure. She never forgot the sounds of Weiss crying.

* * *

"But Weeeiiiiiissss," Ruby whined as she let her forehead hit her desk with a small thud.

"No buts Ruby," Weiss scolded. "Your break has been long enough as it is, and you've still only just barely started on your homework. Get to it."

Grumbling good-naturedly Ruby lifted her head with a pout on her lips. Her eyes looked forward towards the screen of her laptop. There upon was an image of her best friend glaring at her over their video call. After a few seconds Ruby gave in and acquiesced with a sigh, reaching once more for her pencil and paper.

"Fiiiiiine."

Seeing Ruby begin working at her math homework once more the image of Weiss on the screen nodded before turning to look back down at her own work.

It had been five years since Ruby had moved away, leaving Weiss behind in their hometown. But neither time nor distance had managed to dull their friendship. It had been difficult in the beginning to adjust to being apart, but they had kept in touch.

Things weren't quite the same as they used to be, but Ruby was just glad that Weiss was still in her life.

"Hey Weiss? What shape was x squared plus y squared equals one?" Ruby asked without looking up.

"That's a unit circle Ruby." Ruby could practically _hear_ Weiss's eyes rolling given the tone of voice.

"Thanks!" If Ruby ever let Weiss's snark get her down their friendship would hardly have lasted as long as it had. "Hey Weiss? Have you seen that new movie yet?"

"You're going to have to be more specific than 'that new movie' Ruby," Weiss deadpanned.

"The one with the giant robots!" Ruby said in her usual excited voice. "You know I've been wanting to see that for a while."

"Oh yes. _That_ one," Weiss said sarcastically. "No Ruby, I have not. You know I-"

Weiss suddenly cut off mid sentence when a voice in the background said something. Ruby couldn't quite make out what was being said, but Weiss obviously could.

"I'm sorry Ruby, it's time for my dinner," apologized Weiss. "I'll call you back later okay?"

"No problem Weiss," said Ruby with a smile. "Have a nice dinner!" She waved goodbye at the camera on her laptop as Weiss ended the video call for now.

As the call ended the chat window resized itself now that it no longer had to display video. Despite that, Ruby's eyes continued to linger on the screen with Weiss's appearance still burned into her mind. The small smile Ruby previously had was now slowly slipping, turning into a sad little thing.

Weiss was still her friend yes, still her best friend in fact. That hadn't changed. But it was precisely because of that that things as they were now bothered her so much. She missed every mundane thing they had taken for granted years ago. Doing homework together, watching movies, playing on the swing, or just hanging out together even if they weren't actually doing anything. Things done over the phone or the internet just were not the same as doing it in person. Even if she had just finished talking with Weiss a minute ago, Ruby missed her.

If it were just that though, Ruby could probably deal. But there was something else that made it so much worse.

Getting up from her desk Ruby walked the two steps over to her bed and flopped down onto her stomach. Grabbing a hold of her pillow she buried her face into it as deep as possible. Even with her darkened vision, the image of Weiss still haunted her mind. Her friend had gotten really beautiful over the years. And that was part of the other problem.

"Weiss..."

At some point Ruby had realized that she had fallen head over heels for her best friend.

Ruby wasn't really sure when it started, or even when she fully acknowledged it, but it had happened at some point. She'd always cared deeply for Weiss for as long as they had been friends, but it was difficult to tell at what point that had become something more.

Feeling the usual great frustration that came with these thoughts Ruby let out a muffled scream into her pillow. When the scream subsided with the feelings of frustration, all that was left was misery. With a sigh Ruby rolled over onto her back and brought the pillow down from her face and hugged it tightly to her chest. Dimly her mind whispered that it was too bad that it wasn't Weiss she was holding.

She hadn't told Weiss her feelings yet of course. There were a number of reasons for that.

It wasn't because they were both girls. Ruby was fine with that. While she wasn't sure if Weiss swung that way as well, Ruby was reasonably sure that her friend wasn't particularly against such things either.

Nor was it because of something as cliche as fearing for their friendship. Even if Weiss did not feel the same, if she treasured their friendship even half as much as Ruby did then she wouldn't let it come between them. That's not to say though that Ruby did not fear rejection.

While Ruby was certain that their friendship would survive it, she feared that she herself might not. As important as her friendship with Weiss was, Ruby simply wanted so much more. To know that such a thing wouldn't be possible would absolutely crush her.

That left the other option, that Weiss would reciprocate her feelings. The kicker though is that Ruby knew that such a thing would likely cause her just as much if not even more pain in the long run.

Even just as friends Ruby could barely stand not being with Weiss. If she knew that Weiss did indeed share her feelings then the agony of separation would only increase exponentially. Already Ruby's mind started drifting towards thoughts of Weiss.

The touch of her skin, the smell of her hair. What would it be like to feel Weiss's lips upon her own? Frantically Ruby shook her head to try and clear her thoughts.

Ruby was pining for Weiss bad enough as it was now. She didn't think she could survive if she knew those things that right now were merely wild fantasies could in fact be possible if not for the distance between them. It would drive her crazy.

Now on her side Ruby was curled up around her pillow which was being held tightly within her grip. Feeling a wetness by her eyes Ruby let out a small whine as she squeezed her eyelids shut to try and stop herself from crying.

Her feelings for Weiss were eating her alive from the inside, but she was too much of a coward to tell her friend the truth. Damned if she did, and damned if she didn't. She really was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Even now with her eyes closed the only thing she could see was Weiss.

* * *

Time passed, and with it went another year. Unlike previous years though, this one brought along with it some changes.

"I'm heading out for a walk Yang! Tell dad if he asks okay?" Ruby heard an indistinct reply from her sister, but couldn't quite actually make it out. She just assumed it was an answer in the affirmative and closed the door behind her.

Walking down the street there was a veritable spring to Ruby's step. She was actually humming as she continued along, taking in the familiar sights. This was after all the first time she had been back in her old neighbourhood for years.

They had originally only moved away for her father's new job. Recently his old company had given him an offer, a higher up and better paying position than what he once had. The spot had opened up after the previous employee had been fired for some scandal or another. They had ended up looking up her dad, remembering him as an upstanding employee that had parted amicably rather than taking a chance on somebody completely new.

He had initially been unsure of taking the offer, given the hassle required in moving again. The moment that Ruby had learned of it though, she had all but begged him to do it, and he eventually caved. Ruby was over the moon. She would finally get to be with Weiss again.

As excited as Ruby was about the move, she had actually managed to keep it hidden from Weiss. She wanted it to be a surprise. That's not to say that Weiss didn't notice her extra cheer during their conversations, but after the first time she hadn't brought it up again.

Speaking of her talks with Weiss, that was something she hadn't done for the past week or so. It wasn't too unusual of a thing to happen when one or both of them were busy. Normally the excessive time without contact from her best friend and object of her affections would have had Ruby down in the dumps, but given the prospect of being able to see her in person soon kept those feelings at bay.

Ruby was of course busy with the move, and Weiss who was taking additional summer classes and had an exam coming up. Bleh, taking extra classes you didn't need to? Sounded really boring and a waste of a good summer to her. At least it rather conveniently meant Weiss wouldn't notice anything off about Ruby or what was visible of her room from the webcam during the move.

Although not the same house that she used to live in, her family had moved in pretty close to it. Still within the same neighbourhood. It wasn't a conscious decision on her part, but it didn't really surprise Ruby one bit when she found herself at a park looking up a familiar hill. Ruby smiled.

Looking up at the tree Ruby remembered that it was just a week before the date that Weiss and her first met up there. Ruby chuckled at the memory, and even alone she looked down at the ground a bit in embarrassment. She had made quite the fool of herself which had left a rather bad first impression on Weiss. It had taken quite a bit of work to reverse that.

Weiss. Standing here now Ruby could feel her gut twisting. Part of the reason she had held off from confessing to Weiss was because of the difficulties that would come with a long distance relationship. That excuse was no longer valid. Now that she was back here, Ruby had told herself that she would tell Weiss soon. But not now. After a little while when she had settled back in perhaps.

When Ruby finally looked back up, what she saw at the top of hill made her breath catch in her throat. Standing up by the tree with her back to Ruby was a girl in a dress, with long white hair. It was Weiss.

Ruby had no idea how long she stood there frozen for. It wasn't until Weiss started moving away, as if to head down the other side of the hill that Ruby snapped back into action.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted as she ran towards the hill. "Weiss wait!"

It seemed that Weiss had not heard her, because she kept walking and Ruby quickly lost sight of her over the curvature of the hill. She ran as quickly as she could towards and then up the hill, hoping to catch Weiss before she left. When she reached the top of the hill, only disappointment was to be found.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted again as she reached the top of the hill. "Weiss?" Looking around up here Ruby saw no sign of her friend.

Stepping slowly forwards towards the tree Ruby kept her head on a swivel. Her eyes scanned up and down the hill from her vantage point, but she couldn't find any glimpse of Weiss at all.

"Where could she have gone?" Ruby murmured to herself confused.

It was really puzzling. There weren't very many spots where you could remain hidden from someone at the top of the hill. It hadn't taken Ruby _that_ long to get up here. There shouldn't have been enough time for Weiss to leave the area unless she had sprinted down the hill.

"Weird."

While Ruby was fairly disappointed about not finding Weiss, she also guiltily felt a little relieved. As much as she wanted to see her friend, Ruby hadn't actually been intending to or expecting to run into her until tomorrow at least. She hadn't quite managed to prepare herself yet, and the apparent appearance of Weiss just after her thoughts of confessing had caught Ruby rather off guard.

With one last sweep of the area Ruby decided to put the matter out of her mind. Maybe she was just seeing things. All the anticipation must have gotten to her.

Approaching the tree the first thing to catch Ruby's eye was the nostalgic sight of her old swing which brought smile to her face. It looked rather worn down, and it seemed that one of the ropes had been replaced at some point but it was undoubtedly her old swing. Her fingers brushed against the seat, remembering how much time had been spent by her here. Letting her fingers slip off Ruby returned her hand to her side as she turned to face the newest addition.

At some point a second swing was added onto another branch next to the old swing. This one was a bit higher up, and the seat a bit bigger. Obviously this one was intended for people larger and older than her old child's swing. With the playground just down the hill not a lot of people came up here to the top of the hill. The swings down there were generally smoother than the one on the tree, and there wasn't much else to do or see up here.

With the lack of other potential people who could have done it Ruby wondered if Weiss was the one responsible for both the new swing as well as the repairs to the old one. She wouldn't put it past her. As much as Weiss would often claim not to care, she knew that her friend was really just a big sentimental softie on the inside.

Still smiling Ruby sat down upon the newer swing. The old one was probably too small for her now. Giving herself a starting push with a foot against the ground Ruby started swinging, shifting her weight with each swing to keep her momentum. She felt like a kid again. What would make this scene perfect though was if Weiss were here pushing her as she used to.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting to find somebody else up here."

Surprised at hearing an unfamiliar voice Ruby let out a rather embarrassing squeal. It was a close call that she managed to catch a hold of the ropes again before she fell. Sticking her feet out Ruby dragged them against the ground to bring herself to a stop.

"I'm sorry!" came the voice again apologetically. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Ahh, it's quite alright," said Ruby feeling a little embarrassed about almost falling off. "It's my fault for not paying attention. I was just a little surprised is all."

Getting off of the swing Ruby finally turned to face the newcomer. Standing just over the crest of the hill was a redheaded girl perhaps the same age as her older sister. Ruby was momentarily stunned upon seeing just how beautiful she was. Though of course, not as beautiful as Weiss.

"Not a lot of people come up here," Ruby remarked. She put on a smile trying to reassure the other girl who was still looking rather apologetic and a little worried. "What brings you up here?"

"A friend of mine used to come up here a lot," said the girl looking a little calmer seeing that Ruby was fine. "You are right though in that not a lot of people come up here. Most often even I only come when I'm looking for my friend." The mention of this friend seemed to tinge her voice with some sort of emotion that Ruby couldn't quite seem to place at the moment. "That begs a question. Do you come here often yourself?"

"I used to," Ruby said nostalgically as she started to reminisce. "I moved away years ago, but as a kid I used to come here a lot with my best friend." Turning to look at the redhead again she was surprised to find her looking rather apologetic again.

"I'm sorry! I forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me!" she apologized again. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos." A hand was extended in her direction for a greeting.

"I'm Ruby Rose!" Ruby chirped accepting Pyrrha's handshake. "It's nice to meet you!" She loved making new friends.

"It's nice to meet you too Ruby," Pyrrha said with a warm smile. Cocking her head to the side her brows twisted in thought as she tried to remember something. "Ruby...that name sounds familiar."

In a surprising moment of insight Ruby managed to connect a few of the dots that Pyrrha had dropped in their conversation so far. "Oh! Are you friends with Weiss too?" Pyrrha visibly flinched at those words, but in Ruby's excitement she failed to notice. "Like I said, we used to come here a lot as kids. Does she still come here a lot? I only just moved back and I'm so excited to see her again in person! I thought I saw her earlier, but I may have been mistaken. Have you seen her lately?"

In her excited rush of words Ruby had again suffered a lapse in attention. It was only just now that she noticed Pyrrha's ashen expression and a slight tremble in her shoulders. She had not said a word since Ruby had started speaking. Even now that she had stopped Pyrrha still had not said anything, instead a strange silence hung in the air.

"Pyrrha?" Ruby asked rather warily.

"...You haven't heard?" Pyrrha licked her lips absently as the words came out in a whisper.

"Heard what?" She was feeling incredibly unnerved at this point.

"If you had just moved back then I suppose it's not the surprising," Pyrrha muttered to herself disregarding Ruby's question entirely. "It only happened a few days ago after all."

This time Ruby just eyed Pyrrha silently, waiting for her to continue of her own accord. Sighing Pyrrha visibly gathered her strength before looking Ruby in the eye. The look she had could best be described as pity.

"Weiss passed away several days ago."

* * *

Silently the swing moved back and forth. The solitude of this area suited Ruby and her current mood right now just perfectly.

Weiss was dead.

That was what Pyrrha had told her a week ago.

She hadn't taken it well at first. Had tried to deny it. Had even cried out in anger and accused Pyrrha of lying to her.

"_For what it's worth, I'm sorry. She always said you were her best friend and it must be hard given the circumstances._"

With how poorly Ruby had reacted, Pyrrha had been incredibly patient and kind in return. She would have to apologize to her for that some time.

"_It was an accident. The driver of the truck was drunk. I'm told it was painless. That she died almost instantly_."

For a brief moment Ruby had hated that man. Never before had she truly ever hated somebody, but in that moment with every fibre of her being she had well and truly hated a man that she had never even met.

But Ruby slumped again in her seat upon the swing as its motions slowed.

There wasn't anything she could do to the man who killed her anyway. Mr. Schnee would more than see to that. He may not have always been the kindest or most caring man or father, but he really had loved his daughter. When the owner of the powerful Schnee Corporation wanted revenge and set out to wreck a person, you couldn't really do much more than that. Ruby had allowed herself to feel a small measure of satisfaction from that.

"_The funeral is in several days time. I'm sure you'll want to be there._"

When Ruby had first looked upon her friend's body was when she truly realized that no amount of vengeance would make things better. Her hatred would accomplish nothing. She'd have given anything to have Weiss back, but there was nothing in this world that would be able to do that.

Ruby closed her eyes as the tears began to break out again. She had to bite down on her quivering lips to prevent the sobs that were also threatening to escape. What she wouldn't have given for just a moment with her. A chance to say the things she had never managed to say.

"Weiss..."

Today would have marked ten years since they had first met. This would have been the perfect time and place for what she wanted to tell Weiss. Instead this day was just a bitter reminder of regrets.

"_Ruby_."

That voice...

Tear stained as they were Ruby's eyes snapped open in sudden shock. Her heart was hammering within her chest as she leapt off the swing with her head whipping back and forth. Finally Ruby saw what she was looking for and her breath caught within her throat. Standing a ways away from her just where the top of the hill started was a sight such that Ruby dared not believe her eyes.

She was beautiful in that flowing white dress she wore. The smile upon her face was small and perhaps a little sad, but she looked upon Ruby with such kindness. When Ruby's eyes finally caught upon crystal blue was when Weiss finally began to move.

Slowly lifting a single hand up Ruby's eyes moved to follow it, tracing it's movements as Weiss waved to her. It took a second before she registered the next most shocking part of seeing Weiss. Her friend was _disappearing_, vanishing before her eyes, already translucent and quickly fading further. It was only then that she realized that Weiss was waving goodbye.

If Ruby had been thinking more clearly she might have taken more time to question what she was seeing. But right now her heart and body simply demanded that she move.

"Weiss! Wait!" Ruby gasped out stumbling forward blindly. Her eyes were burning with tears as her vision blurred. She reached out with an arm, desperate to try and grab a hold of Weiss. "I never even got to tell you-" In her rush to reach Weiss Ruby's stumbling movements were hardly coordinated. As a result, it was inevitable that she tripped.

Even as she fell Ruby reached out, grabbing at Weiss, Desperate to simply get a hold of _anything_. The nearly transparent material of the dress danced its way with the wind out of Ruby's fingers as she painfully impacted the ground.

"To tell you that I-"

Looking up from her position on the ground Ruby only saw the barest wisps of a nearly transparent figure as it disappeared entirely from view. Her outstretched fingers upon the ground clenched shut in grief, digging the shape of her hand into the ground as she was now squeezing a fistful of dirt and grass.

Ruby's eyes shut again, lowering her head as a trail of tears ran their way down her cheeks. Her throat convulsed with the sobs that intermittently ripped their way out of her mouth. No move was made to get up. And at last, she gasped.

"_I love you_."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Funniest thing I've written in ages. Funny for me. Probably not so funny for most of the rest of you.**

**Only a mention of him, but this is probably the first time I've written Weiss's dad as not an asshole. She even had a decent childhood where Ruby was her friend. And of course this all has to be in a world where I then hit her with a truck. Hehe.**


End file.
